Sunday, 10 March 2013

Final Brier thoughts

Final Brier thoughts

As I type this Brad Jacobs and
Jeff Stoughton and their teams are warming up for the final.

I planned on watching the heck
out of this Brier, but my own curling, my kids curling and other
factors led to me only watching a few games on television. I had
hoped to watch about 20 hours of curling this week, but truth be told
I probably watched half of that.

Even when I had an evening free,
I feel asleep in the ninth end and woke up when the game was over.
This old horse can rarely make it past 11 p.m. anymore, especially
with the late draws being held an hour or two later because they're
out in Alberta.

Anyways, here is a few thoughts
on what I saw and heard during the past week of Brier action.

Friday night

If there is one memory that will
Friday night. The crowd. The excitement. Friday night with the
playoff chase and exciting games will be the highlight moment of
Brier 2013.

With the crowds at the 2010
Olympics and this Brier crowd, it shows things are changing. This is
no longer your grandparents Brier.

Almost makes it worth being there
instead of watching on television....almost.

Rocks

Kudos for the Canadian Curling
Association in using new stones, as they’re the same type of stones
that will be used at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. It's
good for players to get used to them before they make the trek to the
Olympics.

However, while the stones were
used at the Canadian junior curling championships, they threw
everyone for a loop by making their debut at the Brier.

Curlers are a funny sort, change
is okay, not just when it counts the most. The new curling stones
threw everyone for a loop. It would've been nice if they had been
used at a variety of events before the Brier so teams could compare
notes.

Better planning could've made the
rocks less of an issue during the first few days of the Brier.

Social media

Curling has a growing presence on
social-media. If you're not following your favourite curlers or teams
on Twitter or Facebook, do so now. You know in the future it will be
come all corporate and it will not be as engaging or accessible as it
is now.

Also kudos to Curling Zone and
their curling forum. A great way for curling fans from across the
country to talk about the game they love.

Alberta

Started the week looking horrible
and then went on a magical run.

They
started out at 1-4 and it seemed the world was
collapsing on them. You have to give the team credit, as they bounced
back and finished 7-4 including victories over Newfoundland’s Brad
Gushue and Ontario’s Glenn Howard.

It was only the second time in 12
Briers that Martin hasn’t qualified for the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how
Martin's crew bounces back and if they can put it together to try
and qualify for another Olympic spot. They've already qualified for
the 2013 Olympic Trials at Winnipeg in December.

Last kick at the can

Will this be the last Brier appearance
for Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton or Kevin Martin? We hope not, but
Howard and Stoughton are on the wrong side of 50 and Martin is 46 and
is starting to show his age. How long can they keep it up?

Weak teams

I am not a big fan of relegation,
but would British Columbia, PEI or Nova Scotia even qualify for the
provincials in Ontario, Alberta or Manitoba? There is a huge chasm
between the bottom three teams and the top 4-5 teams.

All three bottom-feeder teams
looked over-matched all week.

Bronze medal game

I've been a lone wolf in showing
some love and appreciation for the Bronze medal game. So I was a bit
dismayed to come home Sunday afternoon and not be able to watch the
Bronze medal match on TSN or TSN2. From what I hear the game was just
available online. Either TSN is going to cover the Brier from
beginning to end or they're not. It also shows to fans that the game
means little if TSN2 is not showing it.

I like the Bronze medal game, but
it's obvious that not only are the players not crazy about it, so are
the broadcasters.

Also, since I am on a rant, would
it kill TSN Sportscentre to show more than a minute of Brier
highlights? It seems every hour has 33 minutes of NHL highlights, 7
minutes of NHL rumours, 6 minutes of soccer, 4 minutes of NBA
highlights and then in minute 51, just after a live report from the
Maple Leafs practice, we get a curling update. Is this as good as it
is going to get?

Final prediction

I lost a $10 bet betting against
Jeff Stoughton in 2011 at the Brier in London. Maybe I can get my
money back this year—Manitoba 7, Northern Ontario 5.